Stanford looks to be in - Cal likely to NIT

Published 10:54 pm, Saturday, March 15, 2014

In the immediate aftermath of their 84-59 loss to UCLA in a Pac-12 tournament semifinal late Friday, Stanford players and coaches were in no mood to discuss their chances of receiving an NCAA Tournament bid, however promising they might be.

That should change Sunday afternoon when the brackets are revealed.

The Cardinal, 21-12, are considered a strong choice to make the tournament based on a resume including an upset of then-No. 10 UConn, two wins in their conference tourney to reach the semifinals and an RPI of 41.

ESPN predicts the Pac-12 will land six teams in the NCAA, in this order: Arizona, UCLA, Oregon, Colorado, Stanford and Arizona State, with Cal on the outside looking in longingly.

"We'll get together and see if we're going on with our basketball lives," Stanford head coach Johnny Dawkins said. "It's in someone else's hands. I never feel good about it unless you win a championship. You have to see how people feel about you as a program and as a team."

Though the entirety of Stanford's season will be considered by the NCAA selection committee, what the Cardinal did most recently probably will resonate as much as if not more than its upset of UConn in December.

Being seeded No. 6 in the conference tournament meant Stanford had to play Wednesday. It easily dispatched No. 11 Washington State 74-63 to set up a quarterfinal match against No. 3 Arizona State on Thursday.

Stanford's 79-58 victory over the Sun Devils is regarded as perhaps the most impressive game of the Dawkins era. From a three-point lead at halftime (30-27), the Cardinal powered past ASU in the second half by a 49-31 count. Stanford shot 55 percent for the game (28-for-51), enjoyed a 34-23 edge in rebounding, had four players in double figures and collected seven steals.

The Cardinal left everything they had on the court after that game, a fact that became obvious early in their semi against UCLA when they fell behind by such scores as 9-0, 14-2, 24-5 and 44-29 at halftime on the way to that 84-59 pounding.

"It's going to be a matter of us getting together and figuring out what the difference between last night (ASU) and tonight (UCLA) was," forward Josh Huestis said. "If we figure out that problem, we'll bounce back."

As for Cal, it appears the Bears played themselves out of NCAA consideration and will have to settle for a call from the NIT, of which point guard Justin Cobbs said, "Nobody wants to go to the NIT."

Cal might have no choice after finishing the season 19-13 by losing five of its last seven games, including a 59-56 defeat to Colorado on Thursday in the Pac-12 tournament. Cal's RPI of 59 is not promising and suggests an NIT bid is forthcoming.

"At this point, it's out of our hands," Cal head coach Mike Montgomery said. "We've made it tough on ourselves."